By now, issues of digital surveillance, government interference online, and programmatic targeting by businesses are common parlour talk. From Snowden to the recent and ongoing cases of government spying in Mexico, these acts have become a reality of the digital age. But what ethical, legal, and political questions and consequences lie at the intersection of digital governance and big data?
On August 30, 2017 Citizen Lab’s Reckless V report received front page coverage on the New York Times. This report revealed that Claudio X. González, Director of a prominent anti-corruption organization, was targeted with government-exclusive spyware produced by the NSO Group.
When the general public becomes increasingly aware of online surveillance attempts, how do they respond? Jon Penney, research fellow at Citizen Lab, looks into how individuals navigate this digital landscape and who is most likely to alter their behaviour.
On July 10, 2017 Citizen Lab’s Reckless III report received front page coverage on the New York Times. This research revealed phishing attempts made against international investigators who were in Mexico probing the mass disappearance off 43 students.
Media guidelines Due to high volume of interest, Citizen Lab staff are typically unable to take part in media requests that focus on broader topics relating to digital security. Instead, they are best suited to participate in interviews that directly relate to their specific reports and research streams. For media inquiries, please contact: Snigdha Basu,… Read more »
This report reveals a campaign of reconnaissance, phishing, and malware operations that use content and domains made to mimic Chinese language news websites.
On June 19, 2017 Citizen Lab’s Reckless Exploit report received front page coverage on the New York Times. This research revealed that Mexican journalists and lawyers were the targets of sophisticated phishing attempts, using government-exclusive spyware produced by the NSO Group.
Documents stolen from a prominent journalist and critic of the Russian government were manipulated and then released as a “leak” to discredit domestic and foreign critics of the government. We call this technique “tainted leaks.”
Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert gave a talk at the Berkeley Centre for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) as part of a seminar series, in which he spoke about “Cyber Espionage and Civil Society: A Silent Epidemic.” In his presentation, Deibert focused on Citizen Lab’s work on targeted digital threats.
This report analyzes the information control practices related to a national crackdown on Chinese rights lawyers and activists on two leading Chinese social media networks. We document the Search filtering on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, as well as keyword and image censorship on WeChat, the most popular chat app in China.
